


Mate

by aseaofwords



Series: The Kazer Collections [5]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Animal Transformation, Hawk!Jonny, Kazer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 09:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13028433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aseaofwords/pseuds/aseaofwords
Summary: Jonny turns into a hawk, Kaner gets very protective, and the team goes a little insane.Oh, and Crow is, well, a crow.





	Mate

Jonathan was panicking.

They'd just gotten done with practice. Last night’s game against the Blues went terrible, and Jonny blamed himself. He was rougher during today’s practice, and more focused. Everyone could see how tense his muscles were from the moment he stepped into the locker room.

Jonathan’s first warning was the sudden lightheadedness. He paused, swaying just a bit. Luckily, no one was paying attention.

His second warning was the abrupt nausea. He could feel himself getting whiter by the second, and it was the kind of nausea where you didn't feel like you were going to throw up, but you felt sick to your stomach.

His third warning was the growing feeling of himself feeling smaller, and meek. He quickly glanced in his mirror, relieved to find himself still normal sized. Jonathan straightened up a bit, rolling his neck as he tried to make himself seem bigger. He tried desperately to will away the feeling, but nothing was working.

The damage had already been done.

“Woah, Tazer,” Sharpy looked over and frowned, “You look like shit. You okay dude?”

“Yeah, you seemed pretty tense back there,” Kaner agreed, looking at his best friend worriedly.

Jonathan felt even smaller now. Everyone was staring at him. No, calm down. Calm down. He needed to calm down or this entire thing would happen so much quicker and take so much longer to undo.

His face must have shown his sudden panic, because Kaner walked forward cautiously, as if one wrong move would make Jon’s spine snap in half. He put his hand on Jonny’s shoulder and looked into his dark eyes with his bright ones, “Jonny? Is everything alright?”

Jonathan bolted.

He sprinted through the doors of the ice arena, duffel bag in his hand thrown behind his shoulder. He could hear his team calling after him.

Fast. Run fast.

Jonathan pushed himself, beginning to pant as he took a sharp left. His vision was whiting at the edges. He needed to get away.

Faster. Go faster.

“Jonny!”

“Tazer!”

“Cap!”

His team yelled out for him. It was a chase. They were going to chase him until they caught him. Jonny felt his eyes shift to a light brownish gold.

Escape. He needed an escape. They were going to catch him, shackle him, keep him locked up in a cage or pluck of feathers to make decorations and-

Jonny shoved through the doors and into the cool morning air.

And he shifted.

His body contracted and twisted, only a second of pain, and then he was flying, large brown wings flapping through the air. He got higher and higher and made a turn, continuing to soar as he watched his team stumble to a halt and watch in shock as Jonathan flew.

He perched himself on a tree branch close to the boys, but high enough to where they couldn't reach. He adjusted his wings and settled, staring with his shark eyes as his team burst into panic.

“Our captain just turned into a _fucking_ hawk! Oh my god…”

Their shouting startled Jonny and he jumped, rising off the branch a little as he flapped his wings for balance. He rested again as Kaner yelled at them to shut up.

“You're scaring him!” Patrick exclaimed when he was yelled at for stopping their freak-out moment.

“Kaner, he's a fucking bird,” Duncs glared, “How do you even know if he understands us? Isn't there some expression called ‘bird brain’? It isn't used nicely.”

Jonathan squawed at him, glaring sharply. Duncs froze.

Patrick slowly walked over to the tree cautiously. “If we scare him away, he may never come back.” He mumbled to the team, and Jonathan began to clean his feathers with his beak. “Jonny?” The bird snapped his head up, making Patrick jump. “Hey, buddy. You can understand me right?” He got no answer. “Can you come down? We won't hurt you, Jay.”

Jonathan stared at Patrick, contemplating. His hawk was in most control, and wanted to fly down to Pat. Something about Patrick made him feel safe. The team, not so much. Sharpy, maybe.

Jonathan caught Crawford sneaking away.

  
Patrick lifted his arms towards Jonathan. “Come on, Jon. We wanna get you inside. Keep you safe.”

Inside. Indoors. Walls.

Jonathan shrieked, digging his talons into the branch. The body stumbled, even Kaner. They weren't getting anywhere.

A crow flapped over and sat itself next to Jonathan. The boys watched curiously as the two birds chirped at one another.

_“Crow?”_

_“No shit.”_

Jonathan let out an excited sound, jumping a little.

" _You're a bird!”_

_“Apparently you are too. C’mon, Jonny. Those guys aren't gonna hurt you. They're our team. I know that hawk’s in control, but you've still got the reins.”_

Sharpy walked up to Kaner and put a hand on his shoulder, looking up at the two birds. “What do you think they're saying?” Kaner just shrugged, and Sharpy backed up.

When it was apparent to Jonny that the team wasn't leaving until he got down, he accepted Patrick’s offer. Crow flew away, and Jonathan watched for a good two to three minutes until Crawford slid nonchalantly back into placement by the team.

Jonny was content, and he released his hold on the branch and began flapping. The team tensed again, and Jonathan swooped down in one swift motion and perched on Kaner’s shoulder.

Patrick flinched immediately. “Fuck!” He exclaimed, “God, your claws, man.”

Jonathan suddenly felt bad. His wings dropped and he slumped a little, and Crow took notice immediately. The more stressed and upset Tazer was, the longer he'd be stuck as a hawk.

Crow, who had been very used to talons in his skin, whistled, for Jonny. Everyone looked over, and Crow held out his arm. Jonathan perked up a little, relieved to know there was another option besides punturing Kaner’s shoulder. He spread his wings and flew over, landing on Crow’s arm. He scuffled his way up, resting comfortably on Crow’s shoulder. Then, he head-butted Crow as a thanks.

The team stared at their goalie for a long time. Crow shrugged, “I like birds.”

“Let's get him inside.” Seabs suggested, and the team began walking back to the building.

Jonny squeaked and looked to Crow for help. No indoors. Indoors were bad. But Crow just scratched Jonny’s neck, “It's only for a little while, okay?” Jonathan sulked, but didn't fly away.

They got him inside, and Jonathan searched the room with his sharp eyes. Something nice to sit in. His bag was being carried in by Duncs, Seabs wasn't done getting packed, and Sharpy’s was on the floor. He didn't like floors. He caught sight of Kaner’s duffel in his stall.

His hawk lunged for it, and Jonny let it, allowing himself to rest comfortably in Kaner's duffel bag. He snuggled up to it a little, wrapping his wings around himself as a barrier, and closed his eyes.

He could hear the boys whisper-panicking again, and Kaner saying, “Why my duffel? Why not Crow’s?”

“Because it's Kaner and Tazer, not Crow and Tazer.”

“Shut up. Look, what am I supposed to do with a bird? I can barely take care of a goldfish.”

“It's Jonny. You'll be fine.”

Jonathan drifted off to a light sleep, but was startled awake by a pair of hands coming to rest on his back. He surged backwards and flapped his wings, Patrick putting his arms up in defense. When Jonny realized it was Patrick, he relaxed, and let himself be picked up by his teammate. Kaner put his duffel over his shoulder and held Jonathan in both arms. He didn't mind being squished when he was this close to his mate.

What.

Kaner mumbled goodbyes to the team as he and Crow headed out the back way towards his car.

“Crack the window, but don't open it too much. His instincts will give in and he’ll fly away,” Crow listed off, “Go and buy bird seed. That shit rocks. Oh, and some noisy toys are fun. Keeps them occupied. And-”

“Corey, how do you _know this stuff?_ ” Patrick asked.

Crow’s cheeks went pink. “I just do, okay? Be careful with him. Don't let him out of your sight.”

Patrick looked down at the passenger's seat, where Jonathan was nuzzling his beak against Kaner's leg. Patrick brought his hand down to scratch Jonathan’s head.

  
“I won't.”

  
______________

 

Jonathan flew into the house excitedly, happy to be able to fly again. He soared around the entire place, room to room, sometimes bumping into things along the way.

“Okay, that's enough for right now,” Patrick ordered when Jonathan ran into his living room wall, “Are you hungry? I've got some of that bird seed Crow told me to get.”

Jonathan squawked, and Patrick took that as a no. “You need to eat, buddy. I might have some leftover fish in the fridge…”

Jonathan lit up at that, and bounced from one leg to the other on Kaner’s shoulder. “Ow. Take it easy, man. How about this? You eat some bird seed and I'll let you have some fish.”

Patrick poured a small bowl of the seeds and pushed it towards Jon, who was now sitting on his kitchen faucet. Jonathan bent over, pecked at the seeds, and then looked back at Patrick expectantly.

Patrick chuckled, “You have to eat more than that, Jonny.” He opened the fridge and found the fish, grabbing a plate to warm it up on. Jonathan's spirits lifted, and he ate the bird seed quickly. Half of it was gone when Jon looked up again. Patrick laughed and set down the plate of fish that was cut into little pieces in replace of the seeds. Jonathan ate it greedily.

Patrick watched as Jonathan ate, petting his feathers soothingly. Jonathan finished and looked back at Patrick, tilting his head the way only a bird could. Patrick mocked him. This got a delighted squawk out of Jonny and he jumped, flapping his wings around happily.

Patrick watched him fondly. Jonathan paused suddenly, and turned to the kitchen opening with a sharp eye. He dove forward, startling Patrick a little, and the man followed the bird to the window. Jonathan settled himself on Pat’s shoulder as they watched a mailman come by and slip some papers into the mailboxes.

He looked up, and his smile fell instantly into a terrified look when he saw the hawk, staring murderously at him through the window and on his human’s shoulder. The mainland scurried away, and Patrick broke into fits of laughter yet again.

______________

It took two days for Jonny to become a human again. It happened during a closed practice. The boys were on the ice and Jonny was perched on the bench's edge, watching his team. When one of them would mess up, he'd squawk. It was honestly quite amusing.

However, towards the end of practice, the boys noticed Jonny seemed a little slower, and more sluggish. They were shooting when Jonathan gave a squawk, but not the usual kind – the one that sounded like he was dying.

Patrick whipped around and caught sight of the hawk. Jonny curled in on himself wings wrapping around him. Kaner was by his side in an instant, and the others quickly followed, making a semicircle around their teammate.

Jonny tried to fly. He flapped his wings and got a couple inches off the edge, but he left out a sharp sound and collapsed. Patrick caught him and brought him to his chest.

“Jonny, Jonny relax.” Kaner tried to coo, cradling the hawk as he rubbed his index finger in circles on Jon’s belly. “Crow, what's happening?”

Crow pushed his way through the team. “He's changing back. Get him into the locker room. Go, hurry.”

Kaner took off and Crow was right behind him, and Jonathan was writhing and trembling in his arms.

“Oh my god.” Kaner sniffed, eyes welling up with tears as he stared down at the hawk in his arms. “Does it hurt? Is he in pain?”

Crow grimaced as he laid out blankets on the floor. “Yeah, it's pretty painful.”

Kaner didn't even ask why he knew. He was too busy holding Jonathan as closely as possible. When Crow had finished with the blankets, he motioned to them. Patrick shook his head. “No,” he whimpered, “No, I'm not letting him go. He's hurting.”

“Pat, he's about to become a human again. He's kind of heavy. And naked.”

“I don't care! He finds comfort in me! I can't let him just lay on a pile of blankets and shake!”

“He won't change back if you don't,” Crawford argued, “Jonny’s still in there, and he's not gonna put you in any kind of discomfort or pain. He's a bird, and birds protect their flock.”

Patrick looked down at Jonathan, who was cooing in pain and curling into a ball, hiding his face in his feathers. Patrick reluctantly allowed Crow to take Jonny and place him on the blankets. Pat knelt down and put a hand on the hawk’s back, stroking his feathers, because that always calms Jonny down.

The hawk lets out cries of pain, until there’s a bright light, and both boys cover their eyes. When they open them, the red Jonathan, lying on the blankets, human and naked and still trembling.

“Jonny.” Patrick breathed, leaning over to wrap a blanket around Jonathan’s shoulders. “You're back.” Patrick was smiling in relief, because Tazer was back, and he wasn't in pain.

Jonathan looked around, taking in his surroundings. Locker room, there was Crow, and Kaner-

Jonathan’s eyes flashed a pretty chocolate gold, and went back to normal as quickly as it came when he laid eyes on Patrick. Jonathan surged forward and plastered himself to Kaner’s front, holding him tightly.

And all he said was, “Mate.”


End file.
